President’s Message

A Message from 2019 CCAO President Julie Ehemann (Shelby County Commissioner)

Welcome to the County Commissioners Association of Ohio (CCAO). I would like to take a moment to thank my fellow members for electing me to serve as association president for this year. We anticipate 2019 to be a busy year, and I am excited to address the challenges facing us.

Ohio’s 88 counties serve as agents of the state and are given specific and limited authority by the Ohio Revised Code. Counties deliver state mandated services to Ohioans, which include elections, justice and public safety, infrastructure and human services. As the budget and appropriating authority for county government, county commissioners, executives and council members find themselves in the challenging position of balancing weakening revenue streams with exploding costs.

As we work through 2019, I challenge each commissioner and county executive to join me in our initiative of restoring the partnership between counties and the state through
STRONGER COUNTIES. STRONGER PARTNERSHIP. STRONGER OHIO.
This initiative conveys the scope of the losses counties have experienced and how we believe certain changes can be made that will strengthen our counties and Ohio.

As we work with the DeWine administration and the incoming legislature, we will partner with the state to enact our legislative priorities including increased funding to replace lost Local Government Fund and Medicaid Sales Tax revenue to support the vital functions mandated to us by the state as well as addressing the indigent defense funding issue.

Furthermore, we will work to educate persons to the vital work that sales tax revenue supports in our counties including public safety and justice services. We will demonstrate how increased funding will assist us in addressing the opiate epidemic through mental health and addiction services. And we will push for policies that improve county infrastructure such as roads, bridges, water and sewer treatment, and broadband. Please come back to our website for updates throughout the year as your input will be vital to the process.

Thank you again for the opportunity to serve as your CCAO president. I pledge to work together with you to strengthen county government throughout Ohio. Together we will make
STRONGER COUNTIES. STRONGER PARTNERSHIP. STRONGER OHIO.